During our research it became apparent that when students are placed on out-of-school suspension, their connection to the school is severed. While schools make school work available to the suspended student, there is little to any contact with the student until they return to school. Recognizing that suspended students may be the students that critically need to maintain ties to their community, including the school community, while on suspension, Carter and Matthew explored what schools could do to maintain a connection with or better support suspended students to lessen repeat suspensions and the student falling behind academically. For more detail on our action, click here.
Rachel's Reflection
Carter's Reflection
We began investigating the topic of exclusionary discipline after Carter shared his observations about the urgency of this issue due to its prevalence, the severity of its effects on children, and the disproportionality of its use. Throughout the first half of the semester, we conducted both primary and secondary research into the problem and potential solutions. Esther interviewed students and staff at her school. Matthew and Rachel reviewed national and local literature and statistics on exclusionary discipline The team grounded this work in self-reflection through completing individual currere analyses. Ultimately, we concluded that DCPS policies around exclusionary discipline, though imperfect, are on the progressive end of the spectrum. However, policies and practices remain largely reactive, which we aim to address with our Community Action Project (CAP). This research foundation for our CAP is captured in our Prezi.